Towel cabinet



May 21, 1935. E T HAlLs 2,002,088

TOWEL CABINET Original Filed April 23, 1930 2 sheets-sheet 1 LIFT HANDLE 1 LIFT HANDLE Eda/ant T. Hails .I I BY WITNESS W M 3g 4 ;[M ATTORNEYS ,Ma 21,'1935. E T H 2,002,088

' TOWEL CABINET Original Filed April 28, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheei 2 INVENTOR Eda/Ural T. Hat biswmvsss 2 I ATTORVNEY$ Patented May 21, 1935 UNITED ST TES ATE T; OFFICE 8 Claims. (01. 312-37) My present invention relates to improvements in towelcabinets of the type in which a plurality of individual towels, which are preferably assembled in a pack,are correlated with means that will afford access to the cabinet to permit a clean towel to be drawn out for use, and when such towel is released will automatically cause it to be displaced into concealed position in asoiled towel compartment of the cabinet. Such a cabinet forms the subject matter of my Patent No. 1,874,741 dated August 30, 1932.

The objects of my present invention are to improve and perfect the construction and operation of such a cabinet and to this end it com prises, among others, the following distinctive The clean towels are supported free for movement bodily towards the front of the cabinet and are adapted to be drawn forwardly by the opening of the cabinet door or otherwise so as to present the remaining clean towels, regardless of the number in the pack originally, in most convenient position for ready withdrawal through the front of the cabinet. I thus make all the towels of a large pack equally accessible, whether the user be withdrawing thefirst or last towel and make it unnecessary for .ones hand to be inserted into the cabinet.

A swinging towel support may be used for the clean towels which can be held in a forwardposition by the grasp on a towel iniuse and which will swing back into the cabinet when such towel is released.

The cabinet comprises an element which is advanced into operative position. while a clean towel is being used and serves to supporter toall'practical purposes to relieve the used'tow'el; of the dutyof supporting, the weight of agravitating door, which is the preferable means usedto displace the towels after use into the cabinet. I thus impose on the user only the additional duty of holding the towelcarrier pulled forward into its operative position, which is done naturally and easily. I V

The towel carrier itself may be a gravitating element which, responsive to the'weight of the towels, will swing back into the cabinetwhen released and in doing so will disengage from the gravitating door the element that was supporting its weightand permit it to drop. V

The. towel carrier is adapted to' interpose a guard between the gravitating door and the towel in use which will prevent thedoor coming into contact with any towel except in the act of dis-' placing it after use into the soiled towel compartment of the towel cabinet.

The movabletowel carrier has side guards which move forward with it into position to protect a clean towel as it is drawn out for use from contact at the sidewith any part of the cabinet that is movable into the soiled towel compartment.

Very large towel packs can be readily assembled and interlocked in position on the movable support or swinging carrier in the cabinet.

The clamp means for the towel pack is so mounted as to be rocked by the increasing number of soiled towels depending therefrom into the cabinet and as it rocks it'acts by suitable fingers thereon to press forward the remaining clean towels so that they will be most accessible. In use with large towel packs this clamp element will rock through an arc of approximately 180.

My invention further comprises the novel details of construction and arrangements of parts hereinafter more particularly described and which, in their preferred embodiment only, are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved cabinet with the door closed.

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the door raised.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line IIIIII of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a similar view taken on the line IV-IV ofFig. 2; I

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the towel clamp.

Fig. 6 is a view showing the manner in which the clamp inverts itself as the towels are used.

' Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

I In the embodiment of my invention illustrated, I show a cabinet made of any suitable material andcomprising a front wall In, side walls II, a back wall l2, a top I3, and a bottom 14. In the front HI I provide an access opening. 15 extending from side to side but relatively narrow from top to bottom. Through this opening the towel pack is exposed so that a clean towel can be pulled out for use. i r

., The opening I5 is normally closed by a vertically slidable door means comprisinggelongated side slides it connected at an intermediate point by the door panel I! and connected near their botlowered-position present the panel I! in position to close the opening l5. In its raised position the panel I! will project through a slot 20 in the top wall 5 and may carry instructions or advertising matter which will then be displayed above the cabinet.

The door is adapted to be raised and lowered by a handle 2| carried by the cross bar l8 and projecting through a vertical slot 22 in the front wall ill. By grasping this handle the door can be raised and access had to the towels in the cabinet to withdraw one for use.

In the upper rear portion of the cabinet I pivotally mount a towel carrier 23 preferably" formed of metal with vertical sides 24 fitting loosely between the side walls H from which they are swung by pivot pins '25. The sides taper towards their bottom ends and carry inwardly projecting shoulders or beads 26 which provide a seat 21 adapted to receive the bottom clamp bar 28 of the clamp means for a towel pack, which will be later described. The sides 2c are provided with forwardly ex-' tending vertical guards 29 which are adapted, when the carrier is pulled forward, to swing into position in the opening l5 so as to cover the slides I6 and prevent a clean towel that is being drawn out for use from coming in contact with them. Due to the manner of its pivotal mounting, the carrier will by gravity swing back into the position shown in Fig. 3, when the pull on the towel in use is released.

To swing the towel carrier forward automatically, I attach to each door slide it a cable 36,

which at its other end is connected to the adjacent carrier side 24. in such manner that the carrier will be pulled thereby forwardly as the door rises towards and assumes open position. When the door is released it follows that the carriage is likewise released so that both may have a concurrent gravitating movements when the towel in use is released.

To avoid having to support the weight of the door on the towel in use, as was the case in using the cabinet described in my application aforesaid, and also to protect the clean towel in use from contact with any part of the door that had previously touched a soiled towel, I mount across the top of the carrier guards 29 a transverse towel guard and door support 3! which is preferably formed by a board inclined slightly upwardly and outwardly and so placed that when the door has been fully opened and the carrier advanced to its extreme forward position, if the door is released it will tend to engage and rest on the inner edge of this guard or on the guards 29, see Fig.4,. So long as any pull outwardly is exerted by the towel on the carrier it will be held in position in which it will support the weight of the door without any other duty being imposed upon the towel than to hold the carrier in its forward position. Immediately upon release of a used towel the gravity action on the carrier will retract it, regardless of its engagement of the door, and thus the guard will be withdrawn from below the dooran'd the latter left free to drop. This avoids a too sudden closing movement of the door.

The towel pack is preferably composed of a series of individual towels 32 adapted to be clamped together in the middle by any suitable clamp means, that shown comprising a bottom bar 28, a top bar 33 connected at their ends beyond the towels by screw bolts 3%. The lower clamp bar 28 carries two'rearwardly projecting fingers 35 which, whenthe towel pack is first mounted in the carrier, engage the rearmost clean towel near the clamp, see Fig. 3, and are disposed inwardly and horizontally. As the towels are used the front towels hang down into the soiled towel compartment 36 of the cabinet and as their number increases their weight tends to rock the clamp on its seat 2'! through an arc of approximately 180, during which rocking movement the fingers are carried forward following the clean towels and pressing them always toward the front, see Fig. 6.

' To facilitate the insertion and removal of the towel pack, the front wall above the door opening l5 comprises a removable mirror panel 36 preferably hinged at the top so that it can be swung outwardly and upwardly, or its pivots can be lifted out to permit removal of the door. I thus provide access to the carrier 24 so that the towel pack can be loaded into the machine and removed after all of the towels have been used.

The towels are preferably held in the pack between boards or plates 3? and 38 that are yieldably assembled about the pack by elastic bands 39. Each carrier side 24 is provided on its front edge with 2. lug 40 having a notch cut in its top edge and interlocked with 2. lug M on the end of the front board 31 when the latter is pressed down to its operating position. This holds the front board securely interlocked with the carrier and prevents its accidental displacement due to the pull on-the towel or any other cause. I provide a roller 42 journalled in the lower part of the opening l5.

In the usual practice, the towel cabinet is mounted on the wall in any suitable manner at a convenient height, though a suitable stand may be provided where it is not permissible to hang the cabinet on the wall. One desiring to use a towel approaches the cabinet, grasps and lifts the handle 2|, in doing which the door is raised vertically in its guides, the opening i5 is exposed, and the towel carrier 24 is swung forward presenting the free edge of the forward clean towel which projects from below the guard 3| in convenient position to be grasped by the user without requiring that his hand be inserted into the cabinet. In other words, the towel pack is swung forward so as to present the clean towel end always in position at or beyond the door opening so that it can be most conveniently grasped and at the same'time, as will appear later, when the towel carrier is released and swings back, it affords ample opportunity for the soiled towels to be retracted and to hang in the desired position in the cabinet.

Having grasped the clean towel, the user pulls it out and holding it in his hands proceeds to use the towel, in doing which the handle 2| is naturally released. The door i! would then tend to drop by gravity upon the towel but for the interposition in its path of the guard 3|, which, so long as the carrier is held forward by thepull on the towel, will support the door in raised position. It thus follows that no load or duty is imposed upon the towel or upon the user except to hold the swinging towel carrier in its forward position, which is quite natural under the circumstances.

. Immediately upon release of a soiled towel the carriage 24 is free for its gravitating movement inwardly and rearwardly and the weight of the dependingsoiled towels, as well as that of the clean towels, will all act to cause the carrier to swing immediately backwardly into the cabinet. This movement will withdraw the guard 3| from below the door and when this withdrawal is .completed the door is released to drop by gravity to closed position; In dropping the bottom edge of the door panel I! engages the free end of the soiled towel resting on the roller 42 and drives it ahead of it downwardly into the soiled towel compartment of the cabinet in which it hangs freely below the towel carrier.

As the clean towels are used, the increasing number of underhanging soiled towels andtheir weight, all pulling with increased leverage upon the towel clamp, will rock the latter on its seat 21 and the fingers 35 on the under clamp bar which will rock and thus with increasing force press the fingers against the rearmost clean towels, forcing them always toward the front i where their free edges can be most conveniently grasped.

Though I have described with great particularity the details of the embodiment of the invention herein shown, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto, as changes in arrangement and substitution of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims,

What I claim is:

1. In a towel cabinet, a substantially. entirely enclosed compartment for towels having access means thereto, and a swinging support for a plurality of towels secured together in a pack and reciprocable toward said access means to position a towel at the access means upon each reciprocation of the support, and from the access means to prevent access to the towels.

2. In a towel cabinet, a compartment for towels having access means thereto comprising an aperture and a closure therefor, a swinging support for a plurality of towels secured together in a pack, means to mount the support in the cabinet for swinging movement, and manually movable towards said aperture and automatically movable responsive to gravity in the reverse direction, and means on the support to hold the closure open while the support remains in its swung position towards the aperture.

3. In a towel cabinet having a front door, means to support a pack of towels therein free to be moved toward said door, and means responsive to the opening of the door and actuated thereby to move thetowels forwardly and to present the foremost clean towel at the door opening.

4. A towel cabinet having access means and comprising a swinging support for a plurality of clean towels secured together as a pack, means to hinge the support ina normally remote position wherein the towels are spaced from theaccess means to cause the same to be responsive to gravity to retract itself away from an access means in the cabinet after the support has been swung to afford access to the towels, a closure in the cabinet giving access to the clean towels, and means actuated by the closure to advance said support and expose the foremost clean towel in position to be grasped by a user. I

5. A towel cabinet according to claim 4, in which the closure means is of the gravitating selfclosing type, and retracts the soiled towels away from the access means in the cabinet by the gravitating thereof.

6. A towel cabinet having a gravity responsive access means, a gravity responsive swinging towel support, a connection between the two to pull the said supporting means forward as the access means is opened, and means on the towel support to hold the access means in open position.

'7. In a towel cabinet having a gravitating door, a towel holder movably mounted within the cabinet, an operative connection between the door and said holder whereby the opening of the door advances the holder against the action of gravity so as to expose the foremostclean towel carried thereby in position to be withdrawn from the cabinet for use, and means movable with the towel holder to support the door against a gravitating action while the holder is held in its forward operative position.

8. A towel cabinet having a front access opening, means to support a pack of clean towels in the upper portion of the cabinet, there being a compartment in which the soiled towels hang from said support after use, means to hinge the support to enable the same to move forwardly toward the access opening to expose the foremost clean towel for use, said support being adapted, 

